Four Northview Students Arrested for Making Threats on Website

Northview school officials spent Monday reassuring parents it's okay to send their children to school after four students were arrested for terrorist threats.

There were no guns involved; it was a MySpace message threatening school officials.

Dothan Police officers stood in the hallways of Northview High School in Dothan Monday. They were on guard after four students were arrested over the weekend for making terrorist threats over the Internet.

Chief John Powell of the Dothan Police Department said they have, “Additional resource officers on the campus to provide [a] security blanket and school goes on.”

School did go on as scheduled, but many desks were empty after parents checked their students out early as safety precautions.

Houston County investigators began investigating the MySpace message Friday night after one student's parent brought it to official's attention.

Bill Rafferty, with the Houston County Sheriff’s Department said, “That .01 percent of a chance you have to look into for safety.”

The students who were arrested Saturday are juveniles so their names cannot be released.

School officials say they will not tolerate messages like this and will do everything possible to keep other students from harm.

Northview High School Principal Ron Snell said, “School students are aware that their comments have consequences and that is absolutely unacceptable.”

Extra resource officers will be on hand at Dothan High School until the investigation is complete.

News 4 has a copy of the MySpace message between students. It contains threatening comments about a school shooting and mentions three people on Northview’s staff.

Principal Snell says the school is safe and parents should feel okay about sending their kids back to school.

Online Public Information File

Viewers with disabilities can get assistance accessing this station's FCC Public Inspection File by contacting the station with the information listed below. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, 888-835-5322 (TTY), or fccinfo@fcc.gov.